It's so cold in Pyeongchang that makeup is freezing on people's faces at the Olympics

The weather in Pyeongchang has complicated things just a bit.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Freezing winds in Pyeongchang have caused delays in several Olympic events, but it's the TV reporters who are really struggling.

According to former Olympian and current sports reporter Amy Williams, water-based cosmetics are freezing on people's faces.

Reporters are now on the hunt for decent oil-based makeup that hopefully won't freeze.

The freezing winds in Pyeongchang, South Korea have caused delays in several Olympic events, such as the men's ski jumping and women's giant slalom, but it's not just the athletes who are feeling the frightening effects of the weather. TV journalists covering the games are reportedly complaining that their water-based cosmetics are freezing right on their faces.

Amy Williams, the 2010 U.K. Olympic champion in skeleton racing (a sport in which participants plummet head-first down an ice track on a tiny bobsled) who has since become a BBC Sports presenter, tweeted about the unusual predicament. "So anyone know of good make up that is oil based??" Williams posted. "Our latest update from other presenters in Pyeongchang, Korea for #winterOlympics is that water-based makeup literally is freezing on your face it's that cold!! #help #facefreeze"

Damn.

Williams reiterated the dilemma to Allure: "We got told from the CNN presenters that their water-based face creams and foundations were freezing on their face," she said from her home in England, where she's currently packing to head to South Korea for the rest of the Olympic games. "I will find out when I arrive tomorrow just how bad it is!"

"Water has a freezing point of zero degree, so a water-based formula can freeze up," says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. To remedy the frozen situation, King recommends using an oil- or silicone-based foundation instead. "Personally, I like silicone-based makeup as it gives the velvet feel no oil-based makeup gives. Heavier foundation for extreme weather, like in a soufflé-type formulation, will also help."

With that in mind, Williams says she's hoping to find an oil-based moisturizer and foundation at the airport, and she has received plenty of recommendations from Twitter users who sympathize with her plight.